Fayetteville church holds annual plant sale May 7

Dick Blume/The Post-StandardRobert Garwood, center, loading horse manure into bag held by Suzanne Kaercher as L-R, Kay Heigle, Carrie Ratkoski, and Stephanie Garwood work in the background, at Jill and Victor LaFrenz's horse farm for manure to be sold at annual plant sale for the Trinity Episcopal Church.

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What: Trinity Episcopal Church Perennial Plant Sale

When: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. May 7

Where: 106 Chapel St., Fayetteville

Digging horse manure may seem like cruel and unusual punishment to most teens, but not to a group of youth from Trinity Episcopal Church in Fayetteville.

Members of the church’s youth group filled 40-pound bags with aged horse manure dug from a farm in Manlius Friday.

Aging manure — a process similar to composting — removes nearly all the smell and kills pathogens.

Each bag of manure will be sold for $5 as fertilizer at the church’s 58th annual plant sale on May 7.

More than 2,000 perennial plants dug from the gardens of church parishioners also will be for sale, along with used garden equipment.

Perennials are plants that live more than two years.

There will also be a bake sale.

Money raised from this event will go to fund various church activities.

When they started selling horse manure four years ago, many youth group members were hesitant to help with the digging, said Kay Heigle, a volunteer at the church.

Once they realize the manure is aged for two to three years and has already lost its odor, most of them don’t feel so gross about doing it and are happy to help, said Suzanne Kaercher, youth group director.

“They think they’re digging manure, but it’s more like compost,” Heigle said.
The plant sale will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the church’s parish hall, 106 Chapel St., Fayetteville.

The sale is a perennial big hit, with lots of customers beginning to line up hours before it begins, Heigle said.